Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC, (SCA) is an outpatient surgery center company. They allegedly colluded with two other companies – including DaVita, Inc. – to come to a no-poach agreement. This agreement allegedly prevented recruiters and human resources professionals to hire employees from any of these three companies. Summarily, these kinds of antitrust infringements deeply harm the employees and small businesses caught in its grasp.
The History of the No-Poach Agreement
In January 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an indictment against SCA for their role in this no-poach agreement. The DOJ later named DaVita, Inc. as the second conspirator in the agreement. Additionally, others have speculated United Surgical Partners International, Inc. (USPI) is the third. This indictment states that the no-poach agreement has been in place since at least February of 2012 and continued until at least July of 2017. For five years, these companies stopped director-level employees from migrating between the competing companies by removing opportunities for other employment.
Moreover, the DOJ stated both the DaVita, Inc. and SCA CEOs were complicit in these actions. They allegedly instructed their human resources and recruiting teams to avoid pursuing director-level employees from any of these companies. In fact, the employees even removed candidates from their interview lists if a member of the conspiracy employed them.
How a No-Poach Agreement Can Harm Employees
Employees of these companies also suffered from lower pay because of this no-poach agreement. Director-level employees were unable to take their specific skills to other outpatient surgery centers which prevented them from receiving raises and sign-on bonuses with a different company who may wish to entice a great candidate away from a competitor. Therefore, the workforce was forced to accept its current salary and benefits. Ultimately, without competition between companies, employees lose out on higher pay, more comprehensive benefits, and better working conditions.
Dedicated Class Action and Antitrust Attorneys Across the Country
Large corporations shouldn’t be able to manipulate the labor market by setting salaries and preventing mobility. At McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP, our team of antitrust attorneys are fighting to prevent corporations from mistreating employees. With $1 billion recovered for our clients, we can reclaim lost wages and opportunities for wronged employees in this case. If you were a director-level employee or higher at DaVita, Inc., SCA, or possibly USPI between 2012 and 2017 and believe you lost out on employment mobility due to this no-poach agreement, contact us or call (909) 345-8110 today!